updated 06:35 pm EDT, Wed May 15, 2013

Apple, other companies accused of trying to avoid tax share

Apple will be the focus of a US Senate hearing next Tuesday, Politico says it has learned. The company's CEO, Tim Cook, is expected to testify in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation regarding offshore tax practices. Other witnesses are also expected to speak, such as representatives from the Treasury Department and the IRS.

Apple has been criticized for its handling of offshore money. Although during recent second-quarter results the company revealed it had $145 billion in cash reserves, about $100 billion of that is believed to be overseas, because the company has refused to repatriate the cash if it has to pay a standard 35 percent tax rate. It has even gone to the extent of using a $17 billion bond sale to help finance a $55 billion stock buyback, since that way it can avoid paying an estimated $9.2 billion in taxes.

Several corporations, including Apple, have tried to pressure US politicians into granting a "tax holiday" for repatriated cash. That option may be politically unappealing however, given an ongoing US budget crisis.